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A camping master list

The perfect formula for camping is one part Enid Blyton, one part Wes Anderson (Moonrise Kingdom) and one part reality. That's what I'm thinking as I pack the car....lashings of ginger beer, plaid blankets and practical things like a sleeping bags if there's room.

It's that crazy thinking that means I usually forget something critical...like the camp oven, or the children's flip flops, sunblock or rain coats. And we always need rain coats, because if we're going camping, in Tasmania it's highly likely that it will rain. It's how we roll.

We're just back from a six night camp with friends at our favourite camp ground on Bruny Island.The first day the weather was glorious but from then on things got a little wet, quite a lot wet actually, the biggest downpour for January on record. And it got windy too. Very windy.

But we were in the most delightful place and made the best of it. We saw loads of baby echidnas up close, swam in the sea, didn't catch a single fish but caught plenty of waves. We ate paella, bacon sandwiches, watermelon, and peaches. And toasted jaffles with cheese and tomato with bacon on the outside, plus oysters, and samphire that we foraged along the shore. Cooking outdoors on the fire is the best part of camping for me.

Round the fire one night, I got talking to my friend about camping lists, and she shared some camping wisdom about "the master list." A document listing camping essentials that you keep on your computer and update if needed when you return from each trip. I need a master list, so I won't forget things, so of course I jumped on the idea as soon as I retuned. I not sure this is what she had in mind, as my version is not at all practical but it's all very nice and filled with my favourite camping things.

My camping master list

Tartan :: blankets especially, but we also have a tartan esky to add to the mix. It seems very fitting in the outdoors.

Canvas :: we took a our new canvas tent and it stayed bone dry in the downpour, along with canvas stools, canvas shoes and canvas hats.

I loved reading your post! I am preparing for our family camping trip this week, and only asked my son this afternoon if he wanted to pick a book for us to read, like Enid Blyton. I take most of my list from Emma Bradshaw's blog, Bradshaw & Sons. Your list has some great things to add too. :)

Great! Come along! I really love the Kimberly tent, I'd been looking for a canvas tent for a long time and decided on this one...a good price, easy to put up and waterproof! As much as I would love a bell tent, they are too pricey for me so this is my compromise!

Love your list, it's freezing here in the UK and summer feels a long way off so I'm loving your camping adventures here and on Instagram x x here's a list of what we take http://emmabradshaw.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/emmas-camping-guide.htmlEmma x x x

Oh I really wanna go camping now... our camping list is totally dictated by 'packability' as we only really go camping on our motorbike trips... there's not a great deal of room on the back of two bikes so everything must be multi purpose and or multi use ... of course our stainless steel coffee plunger always goes in first, everything else must fit around it! Crafty suppliers like crochet and leatherwork have to be small projects - no making any big blankets or stockwhips! It's a challenge but quite an art form to make it all fit... Fellow campers can be quite surprised when they see how much comes out, tis a bit alice in wonderlandish my packing!

Love, love, love this Michelle. Especially the echidnas! (could I add them to my list, I wonder?) I am a light-weight camper at heart, and only add another element to our kit after much thought. But the coffee pot and enamel tea pot are definite, as is my cast-iron skillet (heavy as it is), and a market basket full of fruit. I'm with you on Enid Blyton too. x

I love your list. I also have a master list, and mine includes chocolate, coffee, Chai, a teapot and Lego. I must add cake and a cake tin. I saw a cool thing when we were on holiday recently.... some travellers with a tightrope stretched between two trees. It was a hit with everyone that went past. I must see if I can source one of those!

Love it we took our 40cm cast iron crepe hotplate and made crepes for breaky for all our friends at new years. A friend had a cast iron dutch poffertje pan and we had a pancakeoff. Can never have enough cast iron cookware. Love the list. Must read the famous five. My little one has been enjoying the far away tree and wishing chair

I have a camping box (an idea i inherited from my mum) it has things like matches, toilet paper, eco detergent, tea towels, salt and pepper, a few cans of emergency baked beans, plates, cups, bowls, cutlery, tongs, insect repellent, a bit of rope, a torch, coffee, tea, coffee plunger, billy etc. It means we just have to chuck the box and the swag in the car, and we're more or less set :) makes camping a breeze!

When you go out and live just as you were without anyone else's input in this world, you figure out how to value each other more than the amount you would if had every one of those diversions, for example, work, companions and others. Camping, be that as it may, is in excess of a recreational movement. It additionally needs you to hone a few precautionary measures with a specific end goal to ensure everybody is sheltered.